PPA 502 – Program Evaluation Lecture 3a – Expressing and Assessing Program Theory

Introduction The focus in this chapter is on the second of the five evaluation domains in the RFL evaluation framework or model (needs assessment, program theory assessment, implementation assessment, impact assessment, and efficiency assessment).

Introduction You must figure out exactly what the program theory is—that is, you must articulate the program theory; you must make it explicit, so that it can be examined and evaluated. Typically, a program theory will be implicit, at best. That’s why the evaluator must understand how the program is intended to operate. Program theory (like needs assessment) is very important, because it is foundational for later types of evaluation in the RFL model (i.e., implementation assessment, impact assessment, and efficiency assessment).

Introduction

The Evaluability Assessment Perspective Assessing whether the program is ready to be managed for results, what changes are needed to do so, and whether the evaluation would contribute to improved program performance (from Foundations of program evaluation, 1991, Sage Pub.) Negotiation and investigation undertaken jointly by the evaluator, the evaluation sponsor, and possibly other stakeholders to determine if a program meets the preconditions for evaluation and, if so, how the evaluation should be designed to ensure maximum utility (from RFL, p.154).

The Evaluability Assessment Perspective Explores the objectives, expectations, and information needs of program managers and policy-makers; explores program reality; assesses the likelihood that program activities will achieve measurable progress toward program objectives; and assesses the extent to which evaluation information is likely to be used by program management. The products of evaluability assessment are: (1) a set of agreed-on program objectives, important side-effects, and performance indicators on which the program can realistically be held accountable; and (2) a set of evaluation/management options which represent ways in which management can change program activities, objectives, or uses of information in ways likely to improve program performance.

The Evaluability Assessment Rules 1.    Work with management or others who are likely to use evaluation results, and determine their informational needs. 

The Evaluability Assessment Rules 2.    Do not evaluate a program if it is not ready to be evaluated.   Are the objectives realistic given program conceptualization and resources? If not, tell your client the program is not ready to be evaluated.  Conduct an evaluation only when someone is going to use the evaluation results (especially managers who have influence over the development and operation of the program).  3.    Articulate the program theory. When the intended program theory is carefully examined and combined with needs assessment data, you will understand whether the program has a chance of working. If a program is based on a faulty conceptualization, it is going to fail no matter how vigorously you implement it. In an earlier chapter, we called this problem theory failure.  

The Evaluability Assessment Rules 4.    Make sure that measurable performance indicators can be obtained if you are going to recommend that a program be evaluated. 

The Evaluability Assessment Rules 5.    Different program circumstances call for different levels or types of evaluation. Wholey calls this the sequential purchase of information. Here are the three key types of evaluation discussed by Wholey (not covered in RFL): 1) Rapid feedback evaluation which is a quick assessment of program performance in terms of agreed-upon objectives and indicators; it also provides designs for more valid, reliable, full-scale evaluation.   2) Performance monitoring which is the establishment of an ongoing process and outcome program monitoring system. 3) Intensive evaluation which is a rigorous experimental evaluation to test the validity of causal assumptions linking program activities to outcomes. 6.    During the evaluability assessment you should determine whether there should be (a) no program evaluation, (b) a rapid feedback evaluation, (c) performance monitoring, or (d) an intensive evaluation. 

Eliciting and Expressing Program Theory An articulated program theory is an explicitly stated version of program theory that is spelled out in some detail as part of a program’s documentation and identity or as a result of efforts by the evaluator and stakeholders to formulate the theory (RFL’s definition).

Eliciting and Expressing Program Theory Typically a program will not be fully articulated. What will be present will be an implicit program theory, which is a largely unstated theory that is implicit in the program assumptions and operations. RFL define implicit program theory as the set of “assumptions and expectations inherent in a program’s services and practices that have not been fully articulated and recorded.”

Eliciting and Expressing Program Theory First, you need to come up with a clear definition of the program, its objectives, and its boundaries that is negotiated and agreed upon by the evaluator and the primary stakeholders.

Eliciting and Expressing Program Theory Next, you can use some or all of the following procedures for articulating or explicating or describing the program theory. Review program documents and other secondary or extant data. Interview program personnel and other stakeholders. Make site visits and observe the program.

Eliciting and Expressing Program Theory Topics to explore. Determine the program goals and objectives. Determine the program functions, components, and activities. Determine the logic or sequence that links the program functions, activities, and components. Corroborate the theory description that you have now developed with the primary stakeholders

Assessing Program Theory First, assess the program theory in relation to the identified problem and social needs. In assessing the impact theory (i.e., the causal theory), compare the specifics of the impact theory to what the needs assessment data indicate is required to improve the local conditions and problem. In assessing the process theory (i.e., the theory of how the program is maintained and implemented), compare the assumptions associated with the service utilization and organizational plans with the needs assessment data that relate to the target population’s opportunities to obtain services and how they are likely to react to the program.

Assessing Program Theory Second, assess the program theory by using logic and by determining the plausibility of the theory assumptions, the logic of the various theory components, and the theory’s overall logic. Is the program theory well defined? Is the program theory reasonable? Question 1. Are the program goals and objectives well defined, and are they measurable? Question 2. Are the program goals and objectives feasible, and is it realistic to assume that they can actually be attained as a result of program action? Question 3. Is the change process presumed in the program theory (especially the impact theory) plausible? For example, do you agree with the cause-and-effect chain? Question 4. Are the program procedures for identifying members of the target population, delivering service to them, and sustaining that service through completion well defined and sufficient? Question 5. Are the components, activities, and functions of the program well defined and sufficient to attain the intended program goals and objectives? Question 6. Are the resources allocated to the program and its various components and activities adequate?

Assessing Program Theory Third, assess the program theory by comparing it with evidence from research and practice. Is the program theory compatible with research evidence (both applied research and basic research) and practical experience of others?

Assessing Program Theory Fourth, assess the program theory by comparing it with what you observe when you examine the program in operation.

Conclusion The outcome of the process described in this chapter is a description of the program theory and an evaluation (i.e., judgment of the worth and merit) of that program theory. The evaluator can also provide formative evaluative information by pointing out what components or specific program parts or activities need to be revised or reconceptualized. It is important that the stakeholders participate each step of the process outlined in this chapter because they must “buy into” the program theory, they must implement the program theory, and they are the ones that you hope will use the results of your theory assessment.